The park’s car-free (for visitors, anyway) island outpost in Penobscot Bay is low on traffic and amenities, big on tranquility. Quiet beaches and ponds are as much a draw as the 540-foot Mount Champlain that gives the rugged “high island” its name.
Isle au Haut Light
Isle au Haut Light
Sometimes called Robinson Point Light, it’s among Maine’s most rarely glimpsed lighthouses, best viewed from the mail boat on its return trip. The keeper’s house is a B&B — the island’s only lodging and the only way to get the postcard view from the white wooden gangway. 207-335-2990 keepershouse.com
Cliff Trail
The coast-hugging, sporadically steep Cliff Trail packs several gasp-inducing overlooks into just .7 mile (make it a 3ish-mile loop with the similarly dramatic Western Head Trail). Waves pound tall granite outcroppings, but at low tide, you can scamper onto a tiny picnic island called Western Ear.
Duck Harbor Campground
Among the most desirable camping experiences in the National Park system: between mid-May and mid-October, no more than 30 nightly campers share five lean-tos (with hand-pumped water and composting toilets), steps away from trails and rocky beaches. Reserve early by mail. nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/duckharbor.htm
The Mail Boat
It’s a 45-minute ride from Stonington to the Isle au Haut town dock — plenty of time to make friends among the crates and cargo on the snug mail-boat-cum-ferry. Schedules vary seasonally; the trip, through spruce-and-granite former quarry islands, is scenic any time of year. isleauhaut.com
Photographs: (Top) The Cliff Trail on Isle au Haut accesses dramatic granite bluffs at deep cove, Tom Blagden Jr., from Acadia National Park: A Centennial Celebration; Benjamin Williamson (lighthouse)
See more from our Acadia 100 celebration!
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Get our 2017 Acadia Wall Calendar, a great take-home souvenir for travelers venturing to Acadia this summer and those who just appreciate the beauty of the region.
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